China, Sep 17
Chinese farmers in Liaoning province discovered two fossils of Ornithopod dinosaurs while digging the soil.
An international team of paleontologists (scientists who study fossils) from China, Argentina, and Belgium studied the fossils.
Their analysis revealed that the dinosaurs were an early ornithopod, a type of herbivorous dinosaur that lived 125 million years ago. They were nearly 4 feet long, had powerful hind legs and a long, stiff tail. The top of its snout was shaped like a shovel which suggests that they could dig burrows like rabbits.
The fossil was fully intact and well preserved, suggesting that it must have been entrapped alive, possibly by a volcanic eruption. They have been named Changmiania liaoningenesis, which means ‘eternal sleeper from Liaoning’ in Chinese.
A dozen small pebbles were also found near the stomach. These may have been rocks that some animals swallow to help grind their food.